:: Scuff Productions ::

I can’t imagine how brilliant writers have the day I had today and not make a complete NOVEL out of what tiny little nature things that walked/flew around this house.

1) Squirrels. Have born young, the young are no longer nursing, and are out in the “community of squirrels” (Eastern Fox, Eastern Gray Fox, Douglas **native)… They only localize off our rear deck because of the 8 bird feeding stations where seeds drop to the ground.

But ONCE in June when the young are no longer allowed to nurse, and are brought TO this feeding station, to learn the science of what their diet IS, they are so soon spurned and turned away, and chased away by vocalizing parents (and others)………that it’s a bit sad, but they learn they must go off and find their own “territory”….not uncommon in nature. **At least I’m happy they’re eating most of the dropped seed….to keep any mice/rats at bay.

2) DEER. ONCE A YEAR, Doe give birth to fawns…and just AS they do, they give their yearlings eviction notices. Only Once a year, the deer seem to disappear, then while Mom and baby are quietly hiding/nursing, the yearlings appear alone, seemingly a bit lost, and HUNGRY. Today! That happened a yearling buck walked right by our windows to the seed/log we just got……and relished in that find for about 5 minutes…when MAC realized there was an alien who he KNEW was going to destroy our civilization. The barking spooked the dear, but he was back soon SO hungry. It was a fabulous watch for 5 minutes….then he ambled up the side of the house toward the vegetable garden. WOOPS! I have NOT put that deer fence that goes up EVERY year June 1………….. I finally had to let him know I WAS in this “pasture”….and opened the window….he pranced quickly away.

***and of course NO photos……when I simply turned my shoulder, this askeered little deer immediately looked my direction……quiet and NO movement allowed this to happen. I had a great time.

BUT……..TONIGHT, JUST NOW, I spent 30 minutes watching him return to the SEED BLOCK 20 ft from the window…..dine to his hearts content….then amble to the front of the house for salad, aka, apple tree leaves….and I think he ate too much for MY comfort, and then graze in the pasture. THIS was a NATURE MOMENT of a lifetime……..beautiful young sleek native DEER!. Ah, Yes.

3) FLYING SQUIRRELS: After not seeing them for a couple weeks, was SO happy to see -4- of them at once last night in the feeder….seems like THEIR young are ALSO not nursed to completion, and, NO, we hadn’t love them, they’re back! HURRAY. AND it was FUN to see them comfortable 15′ from my chair dining at length.

4) OWLS. Yes, it’s their time too. JUST Thursday, on the dog hike, I was a bit ahead of the group, and SAW a barred owl, very close, FLY in front of me, turn and land on a branch not 100′ away……she watched us…until the group got close and flew further……. End of story? NO! On the weekend, group member Arnie ran into the scientist doing the wildlife count this month for Forest Park, fabulous John Deshler (google him)….. and John not only showed him that very NEST that I was SO close to) but sent him photos of the chicks his nature photog Scott Carpenter had taken.

I am SO thrilled to NOW be able to not just walk the dog, but go check on the progress of the 4 little owlets………….

5) Oregon Juncos. These poor little bottom of the food chain birds NEST IN THE LAWN or on the ground…..SO defenseless…..almost EVERY year we get ONE….we found one, she had five eggs. NOW, 2 are hatched doing well (today), one egg/young disappeared, and should be 2 more tomorrow or……. AND yes, we protect them by putting a tomato cage around that lawn spot…..that is not touched or mowed until the young are fledged:

6) RAIN. Yep, it’s becoming the Junuary I hate……….I HAD to put sluggo on the borders of the garden near the lettuce…..who knows…….and snow levels will get down to 3500′ tonight…… We will know Wednesday……..

What an exciting 2012 THIS is starting out to be…………I had a nature day I’ll never forget.

High summer is a fabulous time, no argument. It’s also the time some of our loved short-timer songbirds already LEAVE us to begin heading back to So. Ca., or MX.

Our beloved Evening Grosbeaks just fledged their 2nd nest youngsters this week.

They are, by nature birds that live in flocks and they nomadically travel in flocks…sometimes up to 20-30 . . . . . . . IT IS ONLY during the nesting season that they split up. At first sight of them this spring, we counted 15 at the feeder….within a week they’d split up into pairs, most leaving this neighborhood. We had about 3-4 pair nest here.

Last Monday, that very nesting “group” began a rather new “chortling” whistle call between themselves, a call to “gather the flock, it’s time to leave“… . . . . . . it got more active by Tuesday when I NO longer even saw them appearing at our feeders. By Wednesday morning? NOT a peep and not one since. They have gone! I’m a bit saddened when THIS cheerful, confident, beauty of nature departs us until next late April.

Most robins have departed.

The Black-Headed Grosbeaks, the other favorite, are just NOW fledging their 2nd batch-o-kids, and I expect to see them disappear in the next week or two….THEY will be going all the way to Mexico, so need a good start.

ALL our Adult Rufous Hummingbirds have been gone a bit, and very FEW juveniles are even here. Feeding volume has dropped from 2 1/2 quarts a day to about a 1/2 now……..and will reduce even more when most of our Anna’s will leave for the valley as soon as summer’s over.

Goldfinches are just finishing their 2nd nesting…… and although they’ll stick around until it begins cooling, they’ll begin to lose their colors.

Oh well………I will miss the Grosbeaks.

May ended yesterday as the 3rd wettest May on Record….May is not as wet a month as you think…it is the month the sun has moved north enough to begin drying things out, there are more sunny days. People gang up at greenhouses excited by the prospect of a summer possibly happening. SOME native plants are very happy. Iris have never bloomed earlier or fuller

Our flowering allium has been rather dramatic

The berm we’d built a few years ago is finally looking nice:

**ahem, I have purposely left out the base of the berm being destroyed by mole hills…..they’re evil.

I like the mix of color on the berm:

Our lovely Oxalis patch (THANK you, Nancy G!!!), left me wondering if our fat little Buddha was still okay:

Yep, HE, at least is still smiling:

Not everything’s smiling, including me. Many things are dying. I mean rotting in mud, or eaten by bugs/slugs. The peas are about dead:

**peas are hardy spring plants that should tolerate this wet. There are many more: carrots, lettuces, marigolds, et.

What happened?

El Nino came through here this winter. By normal standards that meant things were fairly dry…until last of April and then May happened. We all pretended it wasn’t, we kept buying and planting. NOW?

JUNE is beginning with an evil laugh toward gardeners here. Tonight & Tomorrow are bringing 1-3 inches of MORE rain here on top of MUDDY gardens.

Here’s my garden / yard update for this slog fest, that I am really unhappy about…..but hoping I’m going to save something.
– - – -
On the deck, I’ve placed everything that fits under tables/sawhorses:

*Under the sawhorses…I know, not very creative. Hopefully needed for two days:

Under table 1:

And there are more under table 2.

In the garden, where “Walls-Water” have been semi-protecting our precious tomatoes, I’ve placed little plastic grocery bags over the open holes at the top….There are 20 such “walls” out there, so I’m relieved to have all the ‘maters & peppers covered for this storm.

Everything I CAN fit into the $20 coldframe/greenhouse we got 4 years ago, is behind this cover (makes me want to take getting a little REAL greenhouse a serious plan):

see:

Still, though, some animals have laughed at us. All the Teddy Bear sunflower seeds I planted were stolen by squirrels who have a lot of nerve….they should ONLY take seed they personally have buried, right?

Lastly, We placed the Goddess of Fertility and Sun out there, and I hope she keeps dancing till the rain leaves:

AND FINALLY, a tiny blurb of wonder. As I walked toward the garden with baggies in hand, a little Oregon native Junco flew out of the lawn……a lawn I’d just mowed Saturday. As I peeked at that spot, there it was. I immediately got a tomato cage, covered it with some plastic and voila, the nest will be dry tonight:

A bit closer:

precious life is incubating here hoping for a warm Mom to get back soon (POST SCRIPT 1930 hours….MOM is back and nesting, yeah!):

I with I could have found the nest before I mowed, but hey…they’re okay, and now fenced off. It is NO wonder Junco’s must raise 4 batches of young a year. This sure is NOT a safe place to be nesting.

HOPEFULLY, NEXT week will produce some DRY air, drying soil, some sun, and some plants saying, “Thanks, Mark…..”

I KNOW………lots of people have lost their homes, dreams this year in REAL disasters…..and I have no intent to diminish that horror. I still reserve my right to whine.

We have just finished a most pleasant week enjoying the company of a vacationing friend. Homer was kind enough to join us here for a week that’s been filled with good food, fun lots of talk, Sauvie Island Birding, dog walks, talks, the gorge, Homer’s Pies: Lemon Meringue & THEN, a fresh rhubarb/strawberry (his own recipe)….and let me say, when Homer T says he can make a good pie, he KNOWS what he’s talking about. I am determined to learn HOW to make that rhubarb/strawberry/pecan wonder.

The gorge is always a great view from Crown Point, eh?

We ALL got some thrills on our birding trip: 1) A bald eagle hatchling being fed in the giant nest….fabulous, and…. 2) The Heron Rookeries we posted about a while back are SO very alive now with 2-3 big heron babies in each nest sounding out calls to parents constantly (it’s how they recognize and find their own “kids”)…..THAT was thrilling. When the trees were leafing out 3 weeks ago, we thought we wouldn’t see the birds again…we DID.

We enjoyed some fine Portland food at home, John St Cafe, Ya Hala, Pause Restaurant, and Swagat-Orenco –to name a few….. (do not remotely think any of the other “Swagat’s in this town are connected to, or even close to the beautiful presentation and incredible variety of rich northern Indian food this place offers…no matter what the web site indicates. This one is run by a separate group of people).

At one point, we certainly enjoyed how someone carefully changed the “P” to an “F” on this advertising car . . .

Sadly, we’ll say goodbye to this “animal whisperer” friend tomorrow…..and maybe begin getting to the “to-do” list that’s been idle for a week, dang! After all, even without Homer here, it has been nothing but spring storms / hail / rain / wind every day. One night, we ate my Mom’s Recipe for Enchiladas de Santa Fe in the dark here ….

the power remained out until early morning hours.
The link points to the recipe I’ve posted long ago here. Oh well.

May has been a month with NO pauses, and I have some more worthwhile material to put here in my diary…..but I must get to that tomorrow. We had TWO beautifully inspiring and fun outings with Nancy G & Carol to fabulous nurseries in the Willamette valley…. that’s next up.

The birding excitement was high all week. This is that time of year here in the hills/forests, the song birds are ALL HERE singing in the mornings….eating about 2 quarts of sunflower seed a day plus other mixes. IT is fun.

THIS morning, I’m happy…. so far, I’ve seen these guys at the feeders (DISCLAIMER: Except for Rodger’s close-up shots of the two hummers near the end of this post, the bird pics ARE NOT ours…..no time to set up portraits for everybody….I’m just wanting to note who’s here early in May):
* Both white and red breasted nuthatches….cute, little, but not shy birds!
**above, red, below, white:

* Oregon Juncos, and not just the black headed ones.

* Mourning Dove

….yes, one of the most peaceful birds around.
* Band tailed pidgeon
…..big clumsy oafs…..silly birds.
* Stellar Jays

* Evening Grosbeak….written about last week here….

* Black headed Grosbeak — who seems to be moving in, YES!

……absolutely one of the most beautiful calls we see in the spring is the Black Headed Grosbeak song..(click on “listen)..inviting the girls over.

* One Golden Crowned Kinglet…only passing through…he didn’t stay.

*American Goldfinches….all pairing up now for the season

* Littlest Woodpecker, the “Downy”:

* The medium sized Hairy Woodpecker:

* Black capped Chicadees….lovely little families of these in summer:

*And year round beauty, The Spotted Towhee:

We LOVE the songbird season!

Now………….on to the real reason I had to make a diary note.
*** Annas & Rufous Hummingbirds. **

It is near record breaking cold for May…we were in the 30′s last night. WHEN THAT happens, hummingbirds, who have NO fat stored, crowd the feeders evening and morning…..it was pretty fabulous to watch that last night at dusk.

More-so was the little trick we learned to get closer to them….
(THESE two pics ARE OURS….taken just as close as it looks like it was!!!)….One quart feeder is about one foot from a maple tree trunk….we’ve learned to get just in front of the trunk, do NOT move, no sound, and very quickly, the little hummers came in to feed…(yes, the camera “click” would scare them)…but here’s the example…..these are TWO female hummingbirds, first is the Rufous (note she’s smaller, and a bit more tan shade):

NEXT, the female Anna’s, almost all shades of lovely green, and larger:

Rodger captured these beauties….so we could show JUST how close we WERE to the birds. I think he’ll be perfecting some by w/e. …it was a new test for all of us…including the birds!

and PS:
**Last friday, I was lucky to see a large flock (about 15) Yellow-Rumped Warblers move through the tree tops digging for insects in the branches….just slowly moved across the panorama….in their little beauty, and their Yellow-Rumped Calls weren’t bad either. THEN, this morning, a PAIR has returned…looking over the feeding space, and just “maybe” we’ll get a breeding pair close to home.

A new update about Evening Grosbeaks:
**A couple weeks ago, I noted the migrating Evening Grosbeaks passing through….I should have linked to a site where there chirping sounds exactly as it does in nature: Evening Grosbeaks Calling . SINCE that time, we just MAY have lucked out once again! Today, 2 matched pair returned to feed….**WILL we get to see them raise a family?

Well, for starters:
1) It is sunny out today, temps will be low 60′s.
2) We already HAVE lettuce starts IN the ground guarding them against slugs and bugs….but there is “hope”.
3) Songibirds are here…..you WANT to be outside.
4) The Clackamas County Master Gardener’s Sale is on THIS weekend in Canby, OR at the County Fairgrounds. Oregon’s LARGEST plant sale, it will be, as always, exciting, fun, and we’ll be joining friends.
5) Lunch after the sale for “discussion” about what was seen and garden plans.
6) The truck is already loaded with the Garden wagon…and tires inflated properly.
………………………
But the BIGGEST reason I want a garden started soon?

**Last night, I prepared this wonderful fresh tasting Pasta Sauce:

The contents?
a) the LAST container in the freezer of last year’s fresh frozen tomato sauce made from ‘maters, onions, basil, peppers, ALL from last year’s garden. **and of course, added: dried red pepper flakes (our garden) and some sausage!
b) 4-5 cubes of frozen pesto, all of it from last year’s basil …yep, from the garden.
c) one pint of roasted tomatoes, right, from LAST year’s garden.
YUM……………

We’re running out of last year’s “stuff”. . . . .

IF the ground were dryer, I’d rototill today….but in our rain forest, we must wait another couple weeks anyway, depending on the weather.

So here goes, another year, hopefully, a better garden than last year considering I don’t have a broken leg to hold me back! Hurray!

Soon, I hope this yard will look like this:

Squirrel note: WE found out HOW the squirrel was jumping onto the tray feeder. He climbed up the cedar tree….out to a branch at least 15 feet away….took a flying leap, grabbed on to the hook as he passed by, and voila! He’d be eating. As soon as I saw it, I went out, climbed up, sawed off 18″ of that branch. I can’t wait to see him try it again. . . with hopes I get a laugh at what I see. Hah.

Hummingbirds are everywhere……………it is a grand time for us and the neighbors who love watching them…..

Hurray for spring, I’d best go mow that dang lawn…….. AGAIN!!!

AH! We’re finally peeking out of the house! Some sunshine is sneaking in here, and I can feel a LIVE heartbeat again! Happy! A week ago, we grabbed the scopes, cameras, and joined cousin Nancy for an outing to Oaks Bottom…..a fabulous bird watching wetland…..3 mile hike around it and you have some heartwarming experiences. We saw our FIRST baby ducklings of the year (10 and Mom)…. THAT was a Fabulous day. Thanks, Nancy!

This week, We even ventured out to Cirque de Soleil – Kooza (fabulous). After that worked so well, we drove down yesterday afternoon to friend Ian’s surprise Birthday Party / Softball Game yesterday thrown by fabulous wife Kate (fabulous):

We made cookies for the party, plus there was lots more:

YES, we are gaining weight off the leftovers…

HOWEVER. There HAS been some strangeness worming through the little ranchette lately………… We ARE in the woods, we DO have wildlife of all kinds. Sometimes it takes a week or two to solve……maybe.

First mystery was solved yesterday. The puzzle? We have a strange little suet feeder meant to keep large birds/squirrels out, and allow the little birds in to feed:

…you just pour the seeds into that “suet cube” holder”:

….hang it on the tree

and voila! It worked that way for a season….THEN, a little native Douglas Squirrel (our favorite little brown squirrels…), realized he WAS “skinny” enough to squeeze through, grab a nut, slip out, and feast. HENCE: No big deal, we kept putting peanuts in there, and our favorite native squirrel can had his own private food stock.

THIS year, we tried that again, and for some reason, that squirrel (or his descendant) must have been eating too many quarter pounders….HE’s a bit too fat to squeeze in…. THAT is WHEN the mystery began. The feeder remained full all day. But the next MORNING, it was empty……. WHO DO YOU BLAME? You ALWAYS BLAME the raccoons, of course. I moved it, and began placing it on the barbecue some nights:

Of course, if I did, I had to make sure I was out early and got it back on the tree, else the big Fox Squirrels (yes, your cute big thick bushy tailed ones) tore the heck out of everything. So I just moved it around, but every morning it would be empty.

I kept wondering why or HOW a raccoon was getting the peanuts out and not ripping apart the feeder itself.

Yesterday arrived with sun, 70 degrees and a decision to maybe have our first BBQ’d chicken of the year! Rodger’s the great BBQ chef, so naturally, Rodger faithfully accepted BBQ cleanup task. Armed with brushes, cleaner, he took off the cover, lifted the lid to see this:

Apparently, most of the mouse family had grown and gone, we only saw 3-4 escape this lovely Mouse House. Are we MORE annoyed it was there (yuk), OR because it was made with insulation from under the house! Dang! No wonder the heat bill’s going up! The BIG part of the story was this: About a gallon of peanut shells were in here, around it, below it. Peanut Mystery Solved! Poor raccoons had nothing to do with it.

Okay, moving on, mystery #2. We have 3 shepherd hooks with bird feeders hanging from them. You can only do that successfully if you mount baffles on the pole to keep the squirrels from climbing up and devouring it all. THIS M.O. has worked beautifully for about 10 years:

This time of year, we’re looking out there a LOT waiting for the arrival of our songbirds for their annual nesting and rich singing extravaganzas we love every summer. SO. TWO weeks ago, I look out there to see a big Fox squirrel sitting in the feeder eating. Mac ran him off quick, but he was back in an hour. This had only happened once before, and that time, the feeder was simply to close to the Cedar tree so he simply jumped from the lowest branch onto the feeder. Was that the problem?

**I moved the pole out one more foot…..and waited a day or two. Woops! There he was again. Was he jumping from the ground?

… I have watched and watched and seen nothing to support that belief.
From the slope side of these feeders there’s another small tree…maybe he’s jumping from there?

….I measured and still don’t think this was the take off point.

SO: We do NOT know HOW this one aggressive squirrel is doing it.…..THAT mystery remains unsolved….can ANYONE please come up and we take turns sitting at the window till we catch him in the act?

By the way, on that slope side, there is a trail that runs down into the forest. NO HUMAN walks it. It is used by wildlife only, but is used heavily enough, you’d swear it was in a park for hiking:

….I would LOVE to have a NIGHT camera and record everything that moves out here at night…………. THAT would solve a few mysteries on its own.

So, ONE mystery solved (and the BBQ chicken is delicious!!! Rodger’s a GREAT BBQ chef), and one remains in the dark.

**ONE another note, as I was walking back up a trail this morning, I hear/see a pickup park on the gravel road TO the lot in Forest Park, see a guy get out and start making Saw Whet Owl whistles (a plain one note call)…….I thought “weirdo” until I HEARD the OWL begin to answer him. The guy pulled out his binoculars and began to look for the bird. Guess what “I” will be doing tomorrow morning!!!!!!

Saw Whet Owl Call at this link: Northern Saw-Whet Owl Call.
….and why am I happy he’s here? These guys will kill LOTS of mice!

And lastly, our own home SUET FEEDER that gets our Home-Made Suet is doing WELL:

….Seems EVERYBODY loves that feeder….I suppose the “post” the holes are drilled into gives it a very natural feel……

AW! Doesn’t this sound like spring!

After hearing about the last two outings to Sauvie Island , friend and neighbor Arnie said he was interested in going to see the what we’d bragged about. I KNEW, we’re approaching the time any of the ARCTIC birds (Snow Geese or Swans) should be gone, but today was going to be sunny and warm………… LET’s GO! I’ll make this update brief, and not make a repeat post about birding………….. It WAS a fabulous morning.

**This dove sure loved the sun………….

1) Our first encounter…………… something I’d never been able to see, and NOT this close. Within 150 ft of the road, a Male Bald Eagle seemed to sort of be “standing guard” as, 2′ from him, a juvenile eagle was feeding on what appeared to be a rabbit…while two crows waited in the wings for anything that might fall their way. We set up the scope, binocs, and watched this ….it was amazing… FINALLY, the juvenile seemed “full” enough and just smoothly departed. It was only then, the adult Male seemed to be hungry. He then began working on the remains, and we finally left. That was simply the highlight any nature trip could be.

2) Not a mile later, we see another juvenile Bald Eagle about 75′ up in a tree right AT the road. We stopped, and walked under the tree…..LOOKING AT a Bald Eagle through binoculars that close makes them seem HUGE. They are SO impressive looking. Another highlight.

3) The heron rookery was, again, fascinating, we saw several come in or depart for feeding, while other pairs preened or seemed to welcome the day. The HIGHLIGHT here was a pair WORKING ON the nest….lifting, rotating, moving, placing sticks and improving the nest. We’re talking about sticks 1″ round and 3-4 feet long.

4) While watching the herons, a MASSIVE white cloud of snow geese landed just a half mile north…I knew exactly the spot, and we drove to the bird viewing platform just a half mile north. THAT was amazing…MORE snow geese than ever. It seems each week there are more…Are they waiting for the last “goose” to arrive and then will depart as ONE huge group for the Arctic? WOW! It was astounding. ALL around this massive flock were Sandhill cranes in large/small groups, ducks: TEALS, Widgeons, Mallards, and other geese……….QUITE a sight.

5) At Rentaur Road, we again saw large flocks of sandhills all around the place. The size of the gatherings has been growing…. The highlight here, however, was the hundreds of Canadian Geese and Cacklers within 50′ of the road….SO close to the car you could see the fine texture in the feathering, the colors, their real beauty. Nice.

6) At the northern Heron spotting point, we were delights to see several EGRETS flying in the background….Made me wonder if they TOO were nesting out of our right. I had never seen 6-8 egrets in one spot. Beautiful to watch fly.

7) Yep, all in all, we’d seen many eagles, red-tail hawks, merlins, all serenaded by singing Red-Wing blackbirds, song sparrows, et al.

8) I hate to report this, but the HERON NESTS are disappearing behind the budding leafs of the Maple Trees they’re in. I believe they’ll be completely invisible in a couple weeks. Dang! And of course, by then, I expect the Arctic flocks to be gone. I’m glad they WILL be gone since they open this beautiful place up for the Bird Hunters April 15. The place then is not an experience I like to see.

Arnie said the only way the day could have been better would have been to see on of HIS favorites:

A delightful day, and Arnie loved it…………and I came home to play hide and seek with a lovely red breasted sapsucker in the aspen tree:

**I move, he moves..

**I was surprised he never flew off no matter I was 5 ft away:

Yep, birds an be fun.

On Rodger’s web page, he revealed NEW experiences we had last week on our first trip to Sauvie Island this year taken for viewing the spring northbound migration of our favorite birds… Our BIG NEW lesson was about the Blue Heron Rookeries….and just the fact these exquisite birds did such a thing…i.e., gather in these large flocks for nesting. All we EVER see are singular herons sitting elegantly in a bit of water…..it was stunning to see. Well, Saturday, cousin Nancy and I took a second trip out there to show her that wonder, and see what else was happening.

The Migrating bird numbers continue to increase through March …..so, as expected we saw mammoth flocks of birds. We did a lot of viewing through binoculars and a spotting scope, so the camera wasn’t really available. **NOTE: I DID choose to insert a few pictures from the web of some of a few of the stunning and fun birds one does get to see on a trip to this magic island of farmers, and nature preserves. After all “birding” IS about a visual thrill…………….. I hope it translates that way here.

The first sighting on the way to our first destination spotting place, was a SKY view of -9- Bald eages, 3 pairs doing bonding dives, and 3 other single birds. I’d never witnessed to MANY bald eagles in ONE place doing this behavior at the same time.
. . . . Imagine these and a few more flying above you doing bonding flights….Whew!

We took off on a farm road that leads to a nature preserve (not opened this early), and at the gated dead end, a little memorial feeder has been installed. At OUR house in the summer, I’ll see an occasional charming Golden Crowned Sparrow during the summer…there were DOZENS of them here feeding….we thought this must be the “New York” for these little birds:
Outgoing but shy, it is fun when you see THIS little sparrow in flocks.

Above them, several of the beautifully musical Red Winged Blackbirds were joining in for feeding time:

On the way further north, we encountered little Merlin Hawks in several places:

Good of Nancy to teach me the difference between the Kestrel & this Merlin…I’ve been wrong………. But, these little guys are nothing when you run into the very large Red Tailed Hawks, and there were several seen today:

Their nests are almost as large as the Eagle nests…..

Our next stop came at the huge Bald Eagle Nest…where, fortunately, one male chose to hop up on the nest edge and do some calling while we watched…I’d never seen a Bald Eagle make those calling sounds within earshot. Nice. Just a tiny bit further, we turn off the road, toward a water channel to see our first Heron Rookery, and at first glance you only see big lumps of sticks in the trees:

But, of course, your eyes SOON notice there are very LARGE birds either sitting or standing next to these nests:

Once the scope is set up, you see THESE views, and in the breezes, their fine feathers are absolutely beautiful:

**It is here we could see -9- Herons through ONE spotting scope view. THIS is thrilling….they are magnificent birds….but our whole lives, we are used to seeing them in a solitary position in the water……. **A cute addition, while watching these 9 birds, we also noticed a cute sapsucker nipping his way up the branches right in the middles of the Herons. Nice.

We finally walked up to the water channel about the time two pair of one of the most beautiful ducks in the world came in to feed, I love these guys:

**These guys ALSO came in calling out…I’d never heard them make a peep….

We moved on an Audubon official viewing area to see the normal hundreds of Canadian Geese and their smaller cousins the Cackling Geese….which one’s cuter, eh?
I’m not sure I’ve been on this island anytime and seen any more Canadian Geese than I have today.

We moved up to Rentenauer Road (small graveled road moving along a few huge wetland spaces) and found:

1.) The ONE Mammoth Flock of Snow Geese STILL here….I’m sure “gathering” together for the flight north to nesting grounds near Arctic regions:

Yes, it IS a web shot, but I swear, it looked like this picture does…And another interesting view was that MANY were interspersed into a huge Canadian Geese flock there also…all mostly sitting in the sun…quietly resting. Nice.

2) The same Tundra swans were in the same wetland we saw last week. These huge elegant swans, also, surely leaving for the far north very very soon:

Today, ALL were feeding as if they won’t be eating for another week.
It was ALSO here Nancy saw the two little cute ducks I’ve NEVER recognized or noticed. The Buffleheads are quite elegant ducks….they dive completely under and stay for a few seconds, always coming up exactly where they dived from:

3) ALWAYS one of the main beautiful birds to see are those that come through here in the spring headed north for nesting, the Lesser Sandhill Cranes and I am not sure I’ve ever seen more than there were this week.

In small groups, or one huge flock, these are always amazing birds. When you hear THEIR trilling, warbling calls, you never know if they’re just overhead or a couple miles away….the sound carries incredibly:

Of course, there were coots, widgeons, mallards about…..always fun to see

with that glowing green head.

By now, at about 3 hours, we began to get a bit cold all the way through….it was a Brisk morning….but we had gone today anyway because we knew it would be MUCH less crowded today in brisk weather than tomorrow…the forecast tomorrow for temps about 10-15 warmer will draw hundreds of cars out here tomorrow. TODAY, we had the place to ourselves almost.

Well, we finally had to move on…….to the big Heron rookery to the North…we both felt there would be a minimum of 50-70 Herons at the large nesting sight…. all 40-60 feet in the air….incubating eggs for a few weeks, then spending 60-70 days
feeding them until they are large enough to FLY off a tree at that height. Wow..

AND….thanks to Nancy’s dedication, here is a list of exactly WHAT birds we saw yesterday:
**From Nancy: “I wrote down the species (32). Let me know if I missed any: raven, crow, starling, robin, junco, yellow-crowned sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, song sparrow, mourning dove, spotted towhee, red-winged blackbird, bald eagle, red-tail hawk, merlin, kestrel, Bewick’s wren, sandhill crane, canada goose, cackler, tundra swan, snow goose, mallard, bufflehead, American widgeon, coot, Great Blue Heron, red-breasted sapsucker, scrub jay, northern pintail, cormorant, black-capped chickadee, wood duck.”

What a day we enjoyed. We sure do love cousin Nancy!